The Classical Notebook

Classical KING FM announcers and featured musicians share their thoughts on local concerts, seasonal music and evergreen classical favorites.

Preview: Seattle Chamber Music Festival

by Seneca Garberposted Jun 25 2014 10:28AM

Classical KING FM airs every Seattle Chamber Music Festival concert LIVE beginning Monday, July 7. Check our Live & Local Broadcasts page for more information.

Seattle Chamber Music Society’s 2014 Summer Festival is full of so many great performances it’s hard to pick just a few highlights. Artistic Director James Ehnes has said that he tries to bring together the world’s finest musicians and program such great music that every single concert is a sure-fire winner. Even with that being said, several things stand out for the upcoming 12 concerts that run from July 7 – August 2.

During the first week the complete version of The Soldier’s Tale by Stravinsky on July 11 is not to be missed! This is one of the composer’s greatest pieces and is rarely heard in its complete version, let alone with so many amazing musicians. James Ehnes is joined by principal bass of the Seattle Symphony Jordan Anderson, the principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic Anthony McGill, the principal bassoon of the Orchestre symphonique du Montréal Stéphane Lévesque, former lead trumpet of the Canadian Brass Jens Lindemann, principal trombone of the Seatle Symphony Ko-ichiro Yamamoto, principal percussion of the Seattle Symphony Michael Werner, and just announced narrator, Jeff Kready, who is currently in the smash Broadway hit A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. The concert also features a Mozart flute quartet and a Brahms piano quartet.

The late Toby Saks, founder of the Seattle Chamber Music Society, shared her favorite music in this episode of Musical Chairs from 2011.

On Monday, July 21 you’ll hear the incredible talent of the three winners of the KING FM Young Artist Awards Competition and Seattle Chamber Music Society’s Monika Meyer Clowes Memorial Award in the free Pre-Concert Recital at 7 pm. This is your chance to hear them live for a 30-minute performance. The main concert that evening features one of Haydn’s greatest string quartets, a Schumann piano trio, and Brahms’ rarely heard Liebeslieder Waltzes. You’ll get to hear soprano Hyunah Yu, mezzo Allyson McHardy, tenor Nicholas Phan, and baritone James Westman joined by pianists Jeewon Park and Max Levinson for this romantic masterpiece.

We’re offering our 3rd annual Chamber Music in the Park concert at Volunteer Park on Wednesday, July 30 at 7:00 pm. This is a perfect chance to hear live music on a beautiful summer evening at one of Seattle’s most beloved parks. This free event will feature pre-concert activities for the whole family starting at 5 pm and a food truck will be on hand so that you can have a lovely picnic, even if you don’t bring your own food to enjoy. This year you’ll hear Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, K. 581 with arguably the world’s greatest clarinetist Ricardo Morales, principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Beethoven’s C-Major String Quintet.

To wrap up the Summer Festival this year, we’re presenting Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50 with Andrew Wan, violin, Julie Albers, cello, and Adam Neiman, piano. For some this may sound very familiar since it was programmed last summer but the performance was interrupted when smoke from a fire across the street made its way into the ventilation system. This was the making of such an incredible performance that it would be a shame to not reschedule it for this summer. Also on the program is a Mozart string quintet and Beethoven Septet for strings and winds to bring the Summer Festival to a conclusion on a high note.

Besides all the great concerts, Seattle Chamber Music Society offers a number of other events to enhance the festival atmosphere and this summer is no different. We’re offering a special screening of Richard O’Neill’s International Emmy winning film Hello?! Orchestra on July 10, Open Rehearsals, Classical Conversations, Meet the Artists post concert Q&A sessions, live broadcasts of every concert into local Seattle parks, and a Family Concert featuring an abridged version of Peter and the Wolf, and of course live broadcasts of every concert on KING FM! There is something for everyone during the 2014 Summer Festival; we hope you’ll join us!